Tintype of Drope Family at Niagara Falls

Tintype – Mr. and Mrs. Drope and Son Harold Drope, Niagara Falls. From the William Henry Nelles Hull Family Fonds, 1794-2013, n.d. RG 667

This image is a tintype of a couple with their son in front of the Niagra Falls. It was taken around 1897. The tintype was a popular form of 19th century photography where image was printed on metal. This was a relatively affordable form of photography and allowed for frequent, casual photographic documentation, especially compared to the daguerrotype. [1]

Here, the Drope family chose to document their trip to the American side of Niagara Falls. This image is part of the William Henry Nelles Hull Family Fonds collection in the Brock Archives & Special Collections, and just one of many images of groups posing in front of the Falls.

These photographs share common features compositional features including a background of rocky cliffs framing the billowing waterfall. A boat floats in the river below, most likely the Maid of the Mist attraction established in 1846. [2]

Mr. William Drope, or “Grampa” as he is referred to on the backside of this tintype, gestures affectionately to his wife “Nannie” Drope, who is seated holding their infant child, Harold. The Drope family was of particular significance in Grimsby as Mr. Drope held title of Grand Master of the Masons Grand Lodge of Canada in Ontario, and the family made many contributions to the area, including the foundation of Lake Lodge School. We can draw the family line forward to Estelle Cuffe Hawley, the first woman elected to St. Catherines City Council. Estelle fought for women’s rights and was highly influential in both local politics and education systems and curriculum in the 20th century. [3]

-Text by Natalia Rodrigues (VISA 2P90)

*This image is part of the “Women, Water, and Words” exhibition that students in VISA 2P90 curated in the Winter 2024 semester.